When I first began teaching at Harvard in 1983, one of the only other

places that taught leadership in the United States was the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point. Since then, leadership development has become
an industry. You can study it almost anywhere, but, like many areas of
study when they first burst open and grow quickly, the study of leadership
has not yet become a discipline.

Because the field is still young, I cannot tell you that what I am going to
present in this course is the one true way of understanding how to lead and
survive the dangers of change. For now, I am introducing you to a work in
progress in an area of study that is still gradually growing up, and it will be
up to you to test out the utility of these ideas. You have to be a tough
customer when you explore anyone's work on leadership.

Test it out for yourself.

Although I can't give you the same level of confidence as might an

engineer teaching engineering, I can give you a measure of confidence by
letting you know that through the passage of nearly 40 years I've taught
thousands of professional students and consulted to many people around
the world from different cultures, countries, and sectors who have found
this framework very useful, and I hope that you will, too.

Ronald Heifetz, M.D.

Founder, Center for Public Leadership

King Hussein Bin Talal Senior Lecturer in Public Leadership
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

The crises of our time generate enormous adaptive challenges for our
families, organizations, communities, and societies. The need for
leadership that can mobilize people to meet these challenges and improve
life is critical.

In this introductory course, you will explore strategies for leading in a

changing world where adaptive pressures will continue to challenge all of
us. You will discover new ways to approach complex organizational
systems and take thoughtful action on the work we all face ahead. Most
importantly, you will reflect on how to move forward on the leadership
challenges you care about most.

The course is divided into four parts. In the introduction, you will explore
definitions of leadership and apply a process for how to study it. In Sections
1 and 2, you will implement diagnostic methods to better understand work
and authority. In Section 3, you will consider strategies for taking action.
Lastly, in Section 4 and the conclusion, you will reflect on your personal
strategies for surviving and thriving in a world of change.

More information regarding assignments and grading can be found in the

course syllabus.

Course Outline

o Introduction: Get on the Balcony

o 1 Identify the Work to Be Done
o 2 Lead With, Beyond, and Without Authority
o 3.1 Take Action: Think Politically
o 3.2 Take Action: Build Trust
o 3.3 Take Action: Orchestrate Conflict
o 4 Anchor Yourself
o Conclusion: Staying Alive

GET ON THE BALCONY

How do you study leadership?

In this introductory section, you are introduced to the two core

methodologies of the course: Use Yourself as a Case and Get on the
Balcony. You will also explore definitions of leadership and how they relate
to your own understanding.

What You Will Explore

 The importance of learning from your own leadership experiences
 How to apply a diagnostic-and-action method for analyzing
leadership cases
 Definitions
of leadership and the implications of one rooted in the
work to be done

What You Will Do

 Identify a personal leadership case and write a brief narrative about it